A Cultural History of Insanity, from the Bible to Freud, from the Madhouse to Modern Medicine

Madness in Civilization (2015) examines the fascinating and often disturbing history of how people with mental illness were categorized as “mad” and pushed to the fringes of society. It traces the history of “madness” from the biblical story of King Saul to the modern classifications of mental illness and how it’s now categorized and treated.

History buffs

Students of medicine

People who want to understand the history of mental illness

Andrew Scull is a British sociologist who focuses on medicine and psychiatry. He is currently Professor of Sociology and Science Studies at University of California, San Diego. He also wrote Madhouse: A Tragic Tale of Megalomania and Modern Medicine.

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